On Gannon’s second possession, the Golden Knights came out blazing with a 61-yard streak down the field by senior running back and Warrior nemesis Brock Jones. Only the hustle of redshirt sophomore safety Maurice Jackson prevented Jones from scoring a touchdown.

One play after that big run, Gannon’s Phillips had an eight-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7.

ESU’s next possession was cut short after a Soltes pass was intercepted by Gannon junior safety Mike Zanders.

This led to a long drive by Gannon, but ESU’s defense held the Golden Knights to only a field goal, making the score 10-7 Gannon.

ESU responded quickly. The Warriors put together a great drive, which was keyed by a fourth down conversion on a two-yard rush by redshirt senior running back Gerald Van De Cruz.

A couple of plays later, Soltes threw a 23-yard touchdown pass to Schnaars.

ESU was up again 14-10.

The momentum carried over to ESU’s defense. The Warriors came up with their second turnover when Verzicco forced a fumble that was recovered by ESU redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Marc Ranaudo.

The Warriors continued to click on offense. They drove the ball all the way down to the goal line, where Gerald “The Bulldozer” Van De Cruz powered his way through for a one-yard touchdown run.

The offensive shootout continued. When ESU got the football back, they pulled off a ten-play, 92-yard drive which ended in a 48-yard one-handed touchdown catch from Soltes to redshirt junior running back Robert Healy.

ESU led again by eleven points.

On the next drive, ESU’s defense made a statement as they shut down Gannon’s offense. ESU’s Ranaudo had a key tackle that resulted in a loss of two yards for Gannon, and then a penalty against the Golden Knights put them in bad field position.